Amit Shah assures 'new clause' in Mizoram's Citizenship Amendment Bill

As Home Minister Amit Shah visited Mizoram on Saturday., he spoke about the contentious Citizenship Amendment Bill in the Northeastern state. He said that changes will be made in the bill to make it appropriate for the people of Mizoram. He also added that he met Chief Minister of Mizoram Zoramthanga and discussed the state's inner line permit (ILP).  "As far as the Citizenship Amendment Bill is concerned, the Home Minister has assured that a new clause (related to the inner line permit regime in Mizoram) will be incorporated in the draft bill. We will work this out with the Home Ministry," CM Zoramthanga, who heads the Mizo National Front government in the state, told reporters after his interaction with the Home Minister. 

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The issue of the Citizenship Amendment Bill is crucial in the state as Mizoram has been miffed with protest against it. The primary conflict is regarding the Chakma community, which is believed to have migrated to the state from Bangladesh. While some say that they have ethnic conflict with the indigenous population, others call them part of the state. With the National Register of Citizens (NRC) implemented in Assam, northeastern states fear such a move in their states, as per reports. 

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Amit Shah's visit to Mizoram

HM Amit Shah was accompanied by Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State for Development of the North Eastern Region, and Himanta Biswa Sarma, chairman of the Northeast Democratic Alliance, in his first visit to Mizoram after becoming the Home Minister. He inaugurated North East Handloom and Handicraft Exhibition 2019, organised by the North East Council in Aizawl on Saturday. During his speech at the ceremony, he highlighted the achievements of the BJP-led government in Northeast. Shah, also the NEC chairman, assured Chief Minister Zoramthanga of working towards the development of the state. Addressing the people, Amit Shah said, "I am very happy to visit India's beautiful state of Mizoram today. In Mizoram, the most disturbed state in the country could become the most peaceful state, it can also become the most developed state in the country, he said. The state had witnessed a two-decade-long insurgency since 1966, which ended with the signing of a peace accord between the Mizo National Front and the Government of India in 1986." 

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